Williams says murdered sister on her mind during San Jose loss
After taking the worst loss of her career in San Jose last month, Serena Williams said, “I have so many things on my mind, I don’t have time to be shocked about a loss when I was clearly not at my best.”
In a wide-ranging interview with Time magazine published Thursday, Williams shed light on one of those things that was on her mind. About 10 minutes before her match with Johanna Konta began on July 31 at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic at San Jose State, Williams said she was checking her Instagram feed and saw that Robert Edwards Maxfield, the killer of her older sister Yetunde Price in 2003, had been set free earlier this year.
Williams lost to Konta 6-1, 6-0.
“I couldn’t shake it out of my mind,” Williams told Time’s Sean Gregory. “It was hard because all I think about is her kids and what they meant to me. And how much I love them.”
Price, 31, had three children who were 11, 9 and 5 at the time of her death. Police said Maxfield, a gang member, had mistaken Price and her boyfriend, who were sitting in an SUV talking in Compton (Los Angeles County), for rival gang members and opened fire.
The boyfriend was not injured, but Price died from a bullet wound to her head. Maxfield, 25 at the time of the shooting, pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in March 2006, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Maxfield was released on parole from the Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy on March 8.
“No matter what, my sister is not coming back for good behavior,” Williams said. “It’s unfair that she’ll never have an opportunity to hug me. But also … the Bible talks about forgiveness.”
Gregory asked if Williams forgives Maxfield.
“I’m not there yet,” she said. “I would like to practice what I preach, and teach Olympia (her daughter) that as well. I want to forgive. I have to get there. I’ll be there.”
Elsewhere in the interview, which details Williams’ long road back from nearly losing her life after giving birth last September and her life in Silicon Valley with her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, she expresses support for former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who some believe is being blacklisted by the NFL for starting the movement of kneeling during the national anthem to call attention to the treatment of minorities by police.
“He hasn’t lost his joy,” said Williams, who has met Kaepernick twice. “Colin is happy with what he’s doing. Some people are different. He’s just different.”
Williams, who owns a small stake in the Miami Dolphins and supports the players’ right to kneel during the anthem, said if Kaepernick were to get another job, he would win a Super Bowl.
“He’d have so much to prove,” Williams said. “I would. I can’t imagine he would be any different. ‘Man, I’m about to show out. Y’all gonna see stuff you’ve never seen before.’ ”